The Turning Tides (Marina's Tales) by Derrolyn Anderson Page B

telepathic range must extend far beyond my own.
    “ We should go wave riding ,” she said.
    Nixie burst out of the water just as the whales had, leaping over my surfboard with a little wave like a trained dolphin jumping through a hoop. A hauntingly beautiful song filled the air, and the whales rolled in the heaving sea, slapping their long flippers on the surface. It was as if they were signaling goodbye, and I watched as they slowly swam away . I remembered from my lecture that they were leaving California for the winter , heading south to breed and calve in the warm tropical waters off the coast of Mexico.
    “ I think we should go wave riding now ,” Nixie said.
    I had to agree.
    After several hours of spectacular surfing I was ready to head back in. The three of them towed me close to shore to see me off. I paused before swimming in to the beach, making them repeat the rules to me again.
    “ Stop ,” said Nixie.
    “ Think ,” chimed in Nerissa.
    “ Go around the net ,” Lorelei said with uncharacteristic gravity. She was remembering how she was captured, and I felt bad for having to keep bringing it up.
    I patted her hand reassuringly, “ If you stay away from boats, you’ll be fine … And don’t let them trick you with otters! ”
    I put my head down and paddled towards land. I touched ground on a foggy beach, coming ashore almost exactly where I had entered. I trudged to the Ro lls , unzipping and retrieving the key from inside of my suit , pulling my purse from the trunk and climb ing in . I had just finished going through the contortions of changing in to my jeans when I s at up with a start.
    There was someone watching me.
    I could feel it, sensing eyes on me as if they were touching me physically. I caught a movement in my peripheral vision and froze, slowly, methodically reaching for my purse. Without looking up, I pulled out the Taser. I had a good grip on it when I turned the door handle, positioning myself to jump out.
    I was finished running. It was my turn to do the chasing.
    I lifted my eyes up to see a man’s hooded figure with dark glasses peeking from behind the building across the street. He ducked back in a flash, and I bolted out of the car, racing across the street to see him slip into the lobby of an office building.
    I ran inside just moments after him, startling the receptionist, “Where did he go?” I demanded. She just pointed to the elevator. It was going up.
    I ran for the stairs, taking them two at a time, pausing on each floor to find the elevator still on its way up to the top floor. Thank God it’s only five stories, I thought, struggling to keep up the pace. I entered the fifth floor from the stairwell just in time to see the door to a small closet-like room swing shut. With my Taser at the ready, I slowly opened it, finding another half-flight of stairs leading to the roof. I heard a door slam.
    I bounded up the last few stairs and burst out from a utility room onto a tar and gravel rooftop. I checked from side to side, but saw no one. My feet stung as I backed away from the door. There was only one place to hide, and it was on the opposite side of the doorway.
    “Come out,” I called, “I know you’re there.”
    Giving the little square structure a wide berth, I had my Taser at the ready as I started to slowly circle around it. With a sudden flurry of movement, the hooded figure bolted out and dove for the door, slamming it behind him. I lunged for the handle, but came up a split second too late.
    I was locked onto the roof.
    “Damn!” I pounded on the door, giving Abby a run for her money as I unleashed a string of profanities. I stopped to catch my breath with my hands on my knees, finally walking gingerly around the roof to look for another way down. On the side facing the ocean I found an expensive pair of binoculars, and leaned over to see straight down into Evie’s Rolls . I picked them up and looked through them, realizing I’d been watched as I paddled out